


Ghosts of Sunlight

by Lieju



Category: Disney Duck Universe, Disney Ducks (Comics)
Genre: F/F, sad lesbians
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-28
Updated: 2019-10-28
Packaged: 2021-01-04 23:03:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21205532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lieju/pseuds/Lieju
Summary: After Daphne's death, Matilda flees back to Scotland.





	Ghosts of Sunlight

When Matilda had been a child she had loved to walk through the dark corridors of the McDuck castle. Her sister had rarely followed her on these excursions. Matilda had the tendency to pick a spot, maybe bring a book, and just sit or draw.

She liked to think of herself as a realist. Hortense and Scrooge were the siblings with grand ideas of adventure and seeing the world and the belief there were mysteries to be solved and monsters to fight hiding behind every corner.

As a child Hortense would have preferred playing pirates or knights in the castle halls, and had been bored by Matilda's excursions.

Matilda ran her fingers on the cold castle wall. It had been a while.

It was good to be back.

Even if it was just to take care of business.

The last time she had been back had been to take care of things after Papa had died... Once again she was brought here by death even if this time it was-

Matilda shook her head to stop that train of thought.

She thought back to Hortense who had stayed back in America, with her children and husband. She would comfort her husband who needed it, Hortense was acting like the adult here.

While Matilda had fled-

She sighed. She would go back. Eventually.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The castle had always felt peaceful to her. She had never believed in ghosts, not really. (At least not once she got back outside into the bright sunlight.)

But at times she had felt a presence, and had wondered if it had perhaps been Sir Quackly. If so, certainly she had nothing to fear here.

For a fraction of a second she smelled fresh flowers and froze.

But it was gone as soon as it had appeared.

* * *

Matilda awakened from her slumber. She stared at the dusty spiderweb filled ceiling. She had chosen one of the small rooms in the castle to sleep in.

But now she wasn't alone in her bed.

Frozen with something like fear, she kept her gaze in the ceiling.

She wasn't sure how she knew it, but-

She opened her mouth. And closed it again, afraid that if she would say anything the vision would disappear.

She remembered this scent.

It was the scent of wildflowers and sunlight in Daphne's hair.

A hand softly touched her arm.

A shiver ran on Matilda's spine.

It felt wrong. There was the suggestion of warmth there, but it was nothing but a memory.

She whimpered, tears swelling in her eyes.

”I'm so sorry-”

She closed her eyes and drifted to sleep drafted from her memories.

Of the two of them. Sitting on a field.

Matilda smiled at Daphne setting down the crown of wild flowers on her golden hair.

She remembered this day well.

Like back then, she took Daphne's hands.

Daphne let out a surprised little quack, her flower crown falling down on her curls, slightly covering her left eye.

Matilda smiled, reaching out to fix the lopsided crown. Her fingers brushed against her sunlit hair and it felt like her heart had stopped.

Matilda opened her mouth, ready to play her part in this memory.

But instead of blushing and letting go of Daphne, this time she took a chance:

”I love you.”

Daphne smiled, and Matilda was suddenly aware this couldn't be a dream, her subconscious could never capture the beauty in her smile in its entirety.

She reached to kiss Matilda.

* * *

Matilda opened her eyes to greet the sun shining down on her from the tiny window.

Slowly, she sat up.

She was alone.

Of course.

Daphne was gone.

For the first time after her death Matilda allowed herself to cry.

She wailed, crying at the kind beauty taken from this world too soon, of all the missed opportunities, of her own miserable loneliness.

She let it all out, cursing the world, and herself, and Hortense for not understanding what her sister had lost, and even Daphne for daring to die.

Finally, after she felt like she had let herself feel every ounce of pain and despair she had been running from, she dropped back to the bed.

She closed her eyes.

”What is there for me now?”

She was being melodramatic and foolish, she knew.

She breathed in deep, hoping to catch the scent of wild flowers.

She did not.

And in the light of day it was harder to believe in ghosts.


End file.
